Can't Love The Hood

9 | No Love {Part 2}

|King Jackson|

You used to them but ain't no loving me.
I hear what you would say and girl, it's clear to see.
You should just drink a couple drinks with a nigga like me.
You'd probably go insane with a nigga like me.
~ August Alsina Ft. Nicki Minaj

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Lacing up my Nike basketball shoes in the gym, I made sure to tuck the strings in. Afterwards, I began to stretch my legs a little. Today was the day, of our first game against our enemy team. Everyone was slowly getting ready in the locker room, as I looked around. Coach Q had came back last week and wasn't playing no games. Five people got cut from the team within a week, but those five needed to be cut.

"KJ, go ahead and get them prepped, game starts in 10.", Coach Q yelled before walking back into the gym.

"Aye y'all boys, gather round.", I said.

They all quickly finished getting dressed and huddle around me. I looked over all them, all of these niggas are like my brothers, they're family. Tonight is the night we show people not to go against the grain.

"Alright, so y'all already know what we do. We get out there and we ball hard. Do not sugar coat with no nigga on their team yo, we will not lose tonight! Y'all boys are over prepared, you just need to stay focused and watch them carefully. We can't afford any fouls tonight, so play your cards right. Other than that, just keep your head in the game.", I called out while putting my hand out. I allowed for all them to put their hands in

"Warriors on three, warriors on three!", I called. "One, two, three!"

"Warriors!", they all yelled.

We broke off and finished prepping before Coach Q called us out into the gym. Gathering ourselves, we made our grand entrance into the gym, and may I say, that shit was packed. The bleachers were swole, full of students and parents from both schools. I spotted my mom and little sister holding up a sign with my name on it, along with Angel, Rain, Rain's mom, Tyrike and Michael's mom sitting next to them. Coach Q called us over to him in a huddle, and prayed with us a little before the other team walked in.

The buzzer went off, and Tyrike, Michael, me and a few other boys ran onto the court, starting the game off strong. Tyrike did the jump start in the middle of the court, tipping the ball to Michael, who dribbled down the court a little before getting blocked in. He passed the ball to me, which my defensive blocker tried to intercept, but failed. I quickly shook him off, before making an easy lay up, making the first shot of the game. People cheered, as we prepared for the next play.

By the time the first quarter was over, the score was 32-20. We switched out, as coach saved Michael, Tyrike and I for the final quarter, since we started the game off strong. Playing time was never an issue for me because I always played half the game, regardless of who we were playing. Every time, Coach Q would switch my quarters, so the teams don't try and use his tactics against us. The second quarter was a bit challenging for the boys on the court, and we started to lose the game, but not by much.

When half time rolled around, the cheerleaders went on the court and started performing. Amber led all the cheers and made sure to give me a show as they performed. After their performance, she walked over to me and kissed me before heading back over to their designated seats, at the bottom of the bleachers.